To those who say Wizard tank is not very much RP

[Ymarsakar]

I always thought that was pretty strange. The Maiar know how gunpowder is formed, but the kingdoms don't use it for weapons. Maybe that's Sauron's field of work.

Edited March 3, 2016 by Ymarsakar

[DreamWayfarer]

I always thought that was pretty strange. The Maiar know how gunpowder is formed, but the kingdoms don't use it for weapons. Maybe that's Sauron's field of work.

Knowledge of how to make black powder cane much earlier than its widesoread use in war, and even then it took centuries for it to prove superior to the alternatives.

Edited March 3, 2016 by DreamWayfarer

[Phyriel]

To the OP: what makes you think Gandalf is a wizard?  From what I've seen, he seems to be more commonly statted as a bard by people who care about such things.  After all, he can't levitate or cast many offensive spells but has bardic knowledge, some healing abilities, decent hand-to-hand prowess and the ability to inspire people. 

 

But your general point about not typecasting PoE's classes is right on the money.  As someone who's completed the game with a tank chanter and melee cipher, I say people should play their characters as they see fit rather than worrying that their playstyle doesn't mesh what people think a class "should" be.

 

Hmm I guess I assumed he's a Wizard Tank because he can make a shield around himself to tank Balrog uber 1 per rest HIT, he also utilized choke point and kept Balrog engaged... try not to call that on-spot tanking finesse:P

[grasida]

I actually don't see that he meshes well with any classes in D&D, especially given that Middle-Earth is such a low-magic campaign setting.  But sure, he can call himself what he likes!

Middle-Earth isn't low magic, at least not the Middle-Earth of the books. As someone just mentioned, it gets to Dragon Ball Z levels at some points even in the third age, we just don't see it directly. Other than Gandalf's duel with the balrog, in which they fell down to the near center of the earth, fought all the way up to the peak of a mountain, fought on the peak under a rain of fire, ice and lightning, and the balrog "smote the mountain in his ruin", it's mentioned pretty specifically in the appendices that Galadriel destroys Sauron's old fortress in Mirkwood all by herself after the elves have defeated one of his armies. Magic is simply everywhere and in practically everything in The Lord of the Rings, it's just that most of it is inherent in places or people and is almost invisible and never directly used. Even the type that is like a spell that is cast is typically subtle and not directly visible to any of the characters that serve as our viewpoints into the world. But the setting is definitely high magic. It's just that no one casts fireball.

 

 

I always thought that was pretty strange. The Maiar know how gunpowder is formed, but the kingdoms don't use it for weapons. Maybe that's Sauron's field of work.

 

Presumably it simply wasn't effective. Morgoth had rockets and tank-like equipment in the first age. The dragons are never really explained, but are heavily implied to be mechanical constructs that are inhabited by evil spirits. The Numenoreans also had a lot of what seemed like early 20th century technology, but still fought with bows and swords. Most of the participants in the War of Wrath were elves, not maiar, and they leveled a good chunk of a continent and sank it under the sea, but they fought with bows, swords and spears. Middle-Earth technology simply isn't comparable to modern technology at all, probably because it's designed as a fairy tale setting and is intended to be extremely detailed, but isn't attempting to be realistic.

[gkathellar]

 

I always thought that was pretty strange. The Maiar know how gunpowder is formed, but the kingdoms don't use it for weapons. Maybe that's Sauron's field of work.

Knowledge of how to make black powder cane much earlier than its widesoread use in war, and even then it took centuries for it to prove superior to the alternatives.

 

That, and also Tolkein was largely anti-industry and anti-technology.

[Ymarsakar]

I would think Tolkien would be pro spiritualism and anti materialism.

 

As for technological spread, the Europeans had developed strong warrior survival skills from being raided by Muslims and Vikings over centuries. The weaklings died off or were taken off as slaves, never to be seen again.

 

The Chinese had gunpowder, of a sort, but when the Europeans acquired, they immediately started thinking about practical warfare benefits. Just as stirrups came from nomadic horse archer tribes. The more technologically inclined civilizations that had used horses before, somehow didn't develop them. Not even the Byzantine Empire had stirrups until they copied it from the hordes and nomadic tribes.

 

Some technologies just advance faster in certain cultures.

 

Stirrups were what made the German, Frankish, and French knights dangerous on the battlefield as a main flank. Because it allowed the entire weight of man and horse to be brought to bear in a charge and in melee as well. Although the nomadic tribes were said to be so good with horse and arrow, that they could shoot backwards, hanging from the side, dodge blows while the horse is galloping, and other acrobatic melee feats.

Edited March 3, 2016 by Ymarsakar